Key gauges trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased most of their initial gains and were trading flat in morning deals, due to losses in Healthcare, FMCG and Metal stocks despite persistent foreign fund inflows and easing tariff concerns. Some concern also came as RBI deputy governor M Rajeshwar Rao stated that climate change would lead to additional operational costs for borrowers with an increased possibility of a loss of their assets, leading to an increased probability of default by borrowers. However, traders got some support as data showed India's industrial production growth marginally accelerated to 3 per cent in March 2025 from 2.7 per cent in February. Separately, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that he held a productive meeting to advance the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with his UK counterpart, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green as investors awaited a host of corporate earnings and economic data this week. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80277.38, up by 59.01 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 80122.02 and 80661.31. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.21%, while Small cap index was up by 0.27%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.23%, Industrials up by 0.89%, Energy up by 0.58%, Oil & Gas up by 0.53% and PSU up by 0.41%, while Healthcare down by 0.74%, FMCG down by 0.37%, Metal down by 0.28%, Basic Materials down by 0.24% and Utilities down by 0.16% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 1.65%, Eternal up by 1.23%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.12%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.08% and Indusind Bank up by 1.00%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.75%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.51%, Nestle down by 1.36%, Sun Pharma Industries down by 1.30% and HDFC Bank down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the rating agency ICRA has said that the Leading auto component manufacturers could take a revenue hit of up to Rs 4,500 crore in the current fiscal (FY26) due to dip in overseas shipments stemming from the tariff-related impact. The rating agency expects the revenue growth of Indian auto component industry to ease to 6 to 8 per cent in FY26, against 8 to 10 per cent projected earlier, if there is mid-to-high single-digit revenue decline in exports to the US, stemming from the tariff-related impact. Further, it said that the most of the incremental costs would be passed on to the US consumers and US importers, however, it noted that in any buyer-supplier negotiation, the extent of pass-through would depend on the supplier's criticality, share of business, competition, and technological intensity of the components supplied and extent to which the Indian auto component exporters share the cost burden will be contingent on their competitiveness and the price elasticity of the products exported.

Besides, it highlighted that if on average, 30 to 50 per cent of the incremental tariff costs are to be absorbed by the Indian auto component exporters, it estimates an earnings impact of roughly Rs 2,700 to Rs 4,500 crore, which is 3 to 6 per cent of the auto component industry's operating profits and 10 to 15 per cent of the auto component exporters' operating profits. It noted that the Indian auto component industry demand continues to benefit from a diversified mix of end-user segments and geographies, with over 70 per cent of its revenues coming from domestic sales, while, the US constituted only close to 8 per cent of the overall industry revenues in FY2024. Moreover, it noted that export of auto components to the US grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent during FY2020-2024.

The US government had imposed a 25 per cent tariff on imported key automobile parts (engine, transmission, powertrain, and electrical components) vide an order dated March 26, 2025, effective May 3, 2025 and about 65 per cent of India's auto component export basket is estimated to fall under the 25 per cent import tariff category. Prior to this, a 25 per cent tariff was imposed on import of steel and aluminium content in auto parts. Subsequent to the order dated March 26, 2025, a reciprocal tariff of 26 per cent was imposed on exports from India to the US, on which there is a temporary pause for 90 days, but with a 10 per cent ad valorem duty still applicable. Meanwhile, the products that fall under the US-Mexico-Canada Arrangement (USMCA) are exempted at present.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24331.50, up by 3.00 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 24290.75 and 24457.65. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 3.79%, Eternal up by 1.89%, Reliance Industries up by 1.87%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.16% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.15%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.86%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.77%, Nestle down by 1.48%, Eicher Motors down by 1.47% and Power Grid Corporation down by 1.47% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 153.49 points or 0.77% to 20,187.90, Hang Seng advanced 26.9 points or 0.12% to 21,998.86, KOSPI increased 12.43 points or 0.49% to 2,561.29, Straits Times rose 9.42 points or 0.25% to 3,821.22 and Jakarta Composite gained 23.86 points or 0.35% to 6,746.83.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite weakened 0.96 points or 0.03% to 3,287.45.